The White House confirmed to NBC News on Wednesday that EJ Antoni, the conservative economist Donald Trump has chosen to run the Bureau of Labor Statistics, was in the crowd of Trump supporters that surrounded the Capitol on January 6 2021.

A man of Antoni’s appearance, wearing a red varsity jacket, was caught on video posted on the conservative social network Parler walking through the crowd of Trump supporters massed outside the west side of the Capitol about 10 minutes before the mob broke through police lines and into the building.

his taste in art has also been a subject of online discussion.

In a podcast appearance in 2023, Antoni acknowledged that a painting of a battleship behind him during the recording was from the fleet of Nazi Germany.

Asked by the podcast host if the ship was the Bismarck, which engaged in naval battles with British forces in 1941, Antoni said it was. “The Bismarck, yep, in all his glory,” Antoni said.